New Delhi, Jan 17 (PTI) South Korean automobile major Kia on Friday showcased a new and upgraded model of its electric SUV EV6 at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025 here. A refreshed version of the existing model, the new EV6, sees major upgrades in design, features and performance. While bookings for the new model started on Friday, the price will be revealed in May 2025. The redesigned Kia EV6 showcases a sportier front-end and includes up to 15 enhancements, such as new Star Map lighting,...Read More
Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Jan 14 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday said that he will make Naravaripalle village in Tirupati district a model to turn the state into a pleasant one without pollution and carbon di-oxide emissions. Addressing a village meeting in his native Naravaripalle, the chief minister listed a slew of future plans covering solar power, organic farming and others. "I am planning only one thing for our area (Naravaripalle). There should be no ...Read More
Shimla, Jan 14 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Police has filed an FIR against two men from Haryana for allegedly raping a married woman in a hotel in Kasauli, officials said on Tuesday. The accused, Mohanlal Badoli and Jai Bhagwan alias Rocky, also made videos of the act and threatened to kill the victim if she disclosed the incident to anyone, they said. The FIR was registered in Kasauli in Solan district on December 13, 2024. A copy of the FIR was doing the rounds on social media on Tuesday. Accord...Read More
Lucknow, Jan 14 (PTI) The BJP Tuesday nominated Chandrabhan Paswan as its candidate for the assembly bypoll to Uttar Pradesh's Milkipur seat in Ayodhya district which is scheduled to be held next month. The Samajwadi Party has fielded Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad's son Ajit Prasad for the bypoll to the seat. Awadhesh Prasad was the MLA of Milkipur before be got elected to the Lok Sabha necessiting the bypoll. The Congress has decided not to field its candidate and instead support the nominee of...Read More
New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) Wheat sowing increased by 1.38 per cent year-on-year to 320 lakh hectare so far in the ongoing 2024-25 rabi season, according to the agriculture ministry data released on Tuesday. Wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, was sown in 315.63 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. Sowing of most rabi crops is nearing end. Harvesting will begin from April. According to the data, pulses' acreage remained flat at 139.81 lakh hectare as on January 14, compared to 139.11 lakh hectare...Read More
New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) The National Turmeric Board will help develop new markets internationally to promote exports and double production to about 20 lakh tonnes in the next five years, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. Inaugurating the Board, he also said that it would promote research and development into new products and develop on the country's traditional knowledge for value-added turmeric products. "Turmeric is also called as golden spice. India accounts for 7...Read More
New Delhi: Former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, accused of cheating and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits in the civil services examination, has moved the Supreme Court for anticipatory bail. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma is scheduled to hear the plea on January 15. Khedkar has challenged the December 23 2024 Delhi High Court order which refused to grant her anticipatory bail. The high court said a strong prima facie case was made out against Kh...Read More
New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva raised concerns on Tuesday over alleged irregularities in the voter list, ahead of the February 5 Assembly polls in the capital. Accompanied by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Bansuri Swaraj and senior party leader Om Pathak, Sachdeva met Election Commission (EC) officials to highlight their grievances. He claimed that more than five lakh new voter applications have been filed in recent days, including many that have raised suspicio...Read More
Mumbai, Jan 14 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday described the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed district as a "brutal" act and asserted those involved in the crime would face stringent punishment. Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9 for attempting to stop an extortion bid on an energy firm helming a windmill project in Beed district in central Maharashtra, some 380 kilometres from Mumbai. Police have re...Read More
New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) EET Fuel, the trading name of Essar Oil (UK) Ltd, on Tuesday announced securing USD 350 million finance as investors reposed confidence in its decarbonisation strategy and market positioning. The firm secured USD 350 million through a combination of new financing by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and upsizing extension of existing crude facility, it said in a statement. EET Fuels, which owns and operates the UK's Stanlow refinery, is investing USD 1.2 billion ...Read More
Kendrapara (Odisha), Jan 14 (PTI) With the annual crocodile and migratory birds' headcount exercise getting underway, the Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha's Kendrapara district would remain shut for nine days from Tuesday. Several teams have been constituted to count the crocodiles and birds in the creeks, rivers, wetland sites and mangrove forests within the park and its nearby areas, an official said. Any form of human activity could disrupt the process, and that is why the national park...Read More
New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the stand of comptroller and auditor general of India (CAG) on a PIL seeking its 14 reports on city administration to be made public. A bench of Justices Yashwant Varma and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar asked CAG to explain why its report could not be made public, and posted the hearing on January 24. Brij Mohan, a retired civil servant, who filed the PIL said the voters in Delhi must be aware of the state of affairs in the capital a...Read More
New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) Shares of Quadrant Future Tek Ltd on Tuesday ended with a sharp premium of nearly 55 per cent against the issue price of Rs 290. The stock made its debut with a surge of 28.96 per cent at Rs 374 on the BSE. Shares of the firm zoomed 54.74 per cent to settle at Rs 448.75 apiece -- the upper circuit limit. On the NSE, it climbed 27.58 per cent to Rs 370 in opening trade. The stock ended at Rs 444 each -- its upper circuit limit, reflecting a jump of 53.10 per cent. The c...Read More
Kochi, Jan 14 (PTI) Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Tuesday said students going abroad for higher studies is not a cause of concern for the state, but a reflection of globalisation and the accessibility of foreign education. However, the ambition of the state is to ensure that the youth of Kerala need not look beyond our borders to access world-class education, he said. The minister was speaking during an international higher education conclave organised by the state Department of Hig...Read More
New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) All the tourism in the world together cannot match the numbers of those attending the Maha Kumbh, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Tuesday. Speaking at an event organised by Panchjanya, a magazine associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Chouhan also said the sun of India's good fortune will rise again as the Ram temple has been built again. Asked about the ongoing Maha Kumbh, the culture minister said the economic aspect of Kumbh ge...Read More
Sonamarg (J-K), Jan 13 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said his government's push for infrastructure development in Jammu and Kashmir will make the Union territory one of the best connected regions of the country. Addressing a public meeting here after inaugurating the Z-Morh tunnel, the prime minister also said J&K is becoming a hub of ropeways, bridges and tunnels. He said projects worth Rs 42,000 crore linked to road connectivity in J&K were under execution. "All these project...Read More
Chennai, Jan 13 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the Ministry of Rural Development to release the outstanding wage dues of Rs 1,056 crore accumulated thus far under the MGNREGS scheme. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) was an important wage employment scheme for rural India which not only enabled livelihood to rural households but also created durable and sustainable assets across the vill...Read More
New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying that they keep mum on the issue of caste census as they do not want backwards, Dalits, tribals and minorities to get their due share. Specifically targeting Kejriwal at his first public meeting for Delhi assembly polls, Gandhi said that the AAP convenor was following "Modi's strategy of propaganda and false promises" ...Read More
Mumbai, Jan 13 (PTI) NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad on Monday slammed the Maharashtra government over the probe into the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh and asserted people were afraid to lodge complaints against Walmik Karad, an accused in the extortion case linked to the killing. Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9 for attempting to stop an extortion bid on an energy firm helming a windmill project in Beed district, some 380 kilometres from here. Police have r...Read More
Mumbai, Jan 13 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut met with Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Monday amid doubts over the opposition MVA coalition's future after the former announced going solo in the local body elections in Maharashtra. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Raut slammed Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah for his critical remarks on Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray made during his visit to Maharashtra on Sunday. So...Read More
Thrissur (Kerala), Jan 13 (PTI) A man from Kerala, employed by the Russian Military Support Service, has reportedly been killed, one of his relatives claimed on Monday. Binil T B, an electrician from Thrissur, has died, his relative Saneesh told reporters. However, there was no official confirmation. Multiple state government agencies have also said they have not received any official information. The news comes amidst efforts to repatriate Binil and his cousin-in-law, Jain T K, who were stra...Read More
New Delhi: The CAG report, which Aam Aadmi Party leaders are denying as false, was indeed accepted as true by the Delhi government lawyer in the High Court when he blamed the LG office for leaking it to the public. Justice Sachin Datta of the Delhi High Court, who was hearing a petition by the BJP MLAs, said the government should have promptly placed the CAG reports before the house for discussion. "The way you dragged your feet raises doubts about your bonafides. You should have promptly forw...Read More
Hyderabad, Jan 13 (PTI) The 'International Kite and Sweet Festival,' a vibrant celebration of colours and flavours coinciding with 'Makara Sankranti,' the harvest festival, began at the Secunderabad Parade Ground on Monday. The three-day event was inaugurated by Telangana ministers Jupally Krishna Rao and Ponnam Prabhakar, who also extended their Sankranti greetings to the public. The festival features participants from 16 countries, including 40 international kite flyers and 60 national kite ...Read More
Panaji, Jan (PTI) Goa's tourism sector is performing better than the national average, state minister Rohan Khaunte said on Monday and underlined the state government's efforts in sensitising visitors about local culture and traditions. The tourism minister addressed a conclave of tourism stakeholders in Goa. "Goa is performing better than the national average. Goa has great resilience and adaptability in the competitive tourism and the landscape," he told reporters while dismissing reports on...Read More
New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) The Supreme Court would hear a matter related to the health of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on an indefinite fast pressing for demands, and other pleas on January 15. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh would hear a plea filed on behalf of Dallewal for a direction to the Central government for implementing a proposal, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops, made to the protesting farmers in 2021 after the farm laws were repealed. The ...Read More
Bengaluru, Jan 13 (PTI) The Karnataka High Court has dismissed on Monday an appeal by J Deepak and J Deepa, the legal heirs of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, seeking the release of her assets confiscated in a 2004 disproportionate assets case. Jayalalithaa was convicted by a special court in 2014 for amassing wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income during her tenure from 1991 to 1996. Following her conviction, her properties were confiscated by the authorities. A...Read More
New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) Patna High Court Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran was on Monday elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court Collegium recommended Justice Chandran's name on January 7, and his appointment was announced on Monday by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in a post on X. Justice Chandran was appointed as a judge of the Kerala High Court on November 8, 2011. He was elevated as the chief justice Patna High Court on March 29, 2023. Once he takes oath as a judge of the...Read More
Mumbai, Jan 10 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said it was the responsibility of the Congress to keep the INDIA bloc intact as it was the largest party in the opposition alliance. Raut's statement came in the backdrop of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's remarks expressing dismay over the lack of clarity on INDIA bloc leadership and agenda, and saying the alliance should be wound up if it was meant only for the 2024 parliamentary elections. "If the alliance pa...Read More
Kolkata, Jan 10 (PTI) Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) scientists identified a new pangolin species which diverged from the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) around 3.4 million years ago, the organisation said in a statement on Friday. The ZSI said the discovery of the Indo-Burmese pangolin (Manis indo-burmanica) sheds light on the evolutionary diversity of pangolins, likely influenced by dramatic geo-climatic changes in the region, one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. The study, led ...Read More
Guwahati, Jan 10 (PTI) The 'sardar' of workers of the coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district, where eight miners remained trapped, was arrested, even as a dewatering exercise continued in the quarry to facilitate the resumption of rescue operations, police said on Friday. The fate of the trapped miners appeared to be grim with personnel involved in the rescue operations racing against time to bring them out of the ill-fated quarry, while the body of one labourer, hailing from Nepal, has been ...Read More